21, Anderson, Mo.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; killed July 26 as a result of a grenade being thrown from a window of an Iraqi civilian hospital he was helping guard in Baqubah, Iraq.

Spc. Jonathan P. Barnes wanted what was best for his family, and figured the military was the best way to accomplish that. He took law enforcement classes in the service and hoped to eventually become a state trooper.

“He wanted to find a way to better his education and also support his family better,” said his sister, Kim Riley. “He chose to join the military. He thought, that way, not only would he have housing for them but that he would be a better provider.”

Barnes, 21, died July 26 in a grenade attack while guarding a hospital in Iraq. He was based at Fort Hood, and is survived by his wife, Amanda, and 2-year-old daughter.

“He wrote several letters and always said there was nothing to worry about,” Riley said. “He asked every time about his house because we were to take care of the grass and the bills. And he always asked about family.”

— Associated Press

Coweta soldier killed in Iraqi grenade attack

Associated Press

COWETA, Okla. — An Oklahoma soldier is among three U.S. servicemen killed in a grenade attack in Iraq.

Spc. Jonathan Paul Barnes, 21, died July 26 while guarding a children’s hospital in Baqoubau, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Kim Riley, Barnes’ sister.

Barnes was a member of the 4th Infantry Division, his sister said.

“What are the odds that out of the whole the 4th Infantry, one of the three (killed) would be him?” Riley said.

She heard news of the attack the day it happened, and military officials notified her family of Barnes’ death a day later, Riley said.

Barnes and two other soldiers were killed after a grenade was thrown from a window of an Iraqi civilian hospital, according to a statement from the Department of Defense.

“He was assigned to the children’s hospital because they were storing weapons there,” Riley said.

Barnes was born in Muskogee and attended school in Coweta. The married father of a 2-year-old girl, joined the military after a recruiting visit to Joplin, Mo., and underwent basic training in Fort Benning, Ga., Riley said.

Barnes served in Korea and Kuwait before being sent to Iraq.

He had taken law enforcement classes while in the military and wanted to become a state trooper, Riley said.

“He wanted to find a way to better his education and also support his family better,” Riley said. “He chose to join the military. He thought that way, not only would he have housing for them but that he would be a better provider.”

Barnes’ wife has requested that Barnes be buried in a cemetery in Anderson, Mo., Riley said.

Barnes is believed to be the first person from Coweta to have died in Iraq.